Animation rough cut and review

Animation so far, I haven't included any music for background but have completed the animation with the time I had left. I think it could maybe use some more detail from spending more time with it but so far I am happy with the overall result. I would have liked to have added in some audio to do with the voices, voiceovers would have made it much better so if I had have more time then I would have tried to do that instead of writing the words out. I have added as much colour to make it more fun to watch, I like the flow of the frames also as it makes it look more creative rather than just it look like a scribble on the page

I have completed all previous blog work, I need to upload 2 pieces of paper work to go with the animation work as I ran out of time in which to do it in.

I have completed the Animation when I went in for the day to complete it and managed to upload it but I didn't have enough time to find music to go in the background.

Log sheets

Screenshot of edit and evaluation

I am currently working on shot 124 and am almost finished, so far I have completed the shots where Hemmings falls asleep at the desk, I have included facial expressions as best as I could and am now trying to create the shots where Hemmings wakes up and is running down the road trying to make it to his exam on time. I wanted to create it so it wasn't straight on but on an angle instead as I think this works better as when I draw Hemmings running down the road, it will be clearer to see rather than looking from the back.
When I have done the main shots, I will work on filling in the gaps between them so they aren't so jumpy and then I can hopefully add more detail in this way. If I have enough time to do this then hopefully I would be able to get 20 or so more shots in to make it look better.
With the end result I am happy with it although I would have preferred to have spent more time on it or maybe used another software to create it to make the process a lot easier. I have added in audio for the background music, something catchy to go through the whole length of the sequence to go with the mood of the overall story.

Update of animation

So far I have created a new each layer for each shot/movement that I have drawn out, so far I have done 75 shots and am currently doing the greeting between Hemmings and the friends, I have only done the main parts so far so once I have completed the main shots I will fill in the gaps so that it will be more clear. Also, the drawings of the characters are fairly rough which is the style  I was going for as I don't want it to be too neat and polished, I am also trying to move the characters mouths as they talk so you can tell it is them who is saying them as I am writing the words above them instead of making them speak through a voiceover which, I prefer for my sequence.

Animation so far

I have so far created 16 seconds worth of my animation, I'm trying to do the main points first then add in the detail, I've drawn it fairly rough as that is the style i was initially going for and i like the overall look of it. My only worry is that it isn't clear when you watch it but i am trying to create it so it is clear.

P3. Process And Equipment Set Up

To make my animation, I used Photoshop throughout the whole process, I drew each frame so in total there were around 300 shots to make a 2 minute animation. I used the tablet to create each frame so I had an outline that I had in the background on a separate layer or just did it free hand. I then created a layer for each frame for each piece of detail such as one for the outline of the background, one for the colours and another for the character and their movements. I had organised the frames so each layer was underneath its set frame and not somewhere else.
In this picture is the mac I was working with and a tablet in which I used to draw it with, you can see the drawings and the sidebar on the screen. This way was much more simple and an effective way of creating the project.

P3. Script

P3. Treatment

Chick hopping animation

P2. My Animation

Inspiration
I got my idea from various different influences, I liked the idea of having something simple and make it into a detailed project. I remember watching a short film that used rotoscoping and I thought that it was really clever how it was put together as it flows quite well and I knew I wanted to do something along those lines.

 I decided on basing the main character on a range of people to get the perfect look for them. I used Ed Sheeran to help create his talent. I also chose to make it about his life leading up to that moment where he is walking down the street, I aimed it towards college life with exams and such as I find it relatable so wanted to make it so that he was rejected from his option but as he was working more with music, what he was passionate about, it eventually payed off.

How you are going to do this
I have chosen the technique rotoscoping, as I think it will work best with the look that I want to get. I can make it detailed and interesting and put a lot of time into it.

Who with
I have decided from the start that I wanted to work on my own to create this as I feel as though I will be more in control of what I create, I know what I want to create and I want to use my own skills and knowledge of the software to make it on my own and be more independent when producing a project piece.

Design
The short film will look, detailed with a lot of creativity included. I want to transform different objects into another and make it so that it will flow well together, I also would like it to be as simple as possible yet incredibly detailed.

Structure
I will keep the character's look similar the whole way through but as it shows him through certain points in his life, I will change it slightly. I want it to be clear what is happening the whole way through so I will try to make it obvious as to what is happening and why it is important. I have included the main points as

P2. Pitch Document

P2. How Does Your Production Fit Into Current Trends

I think that my Short Film Animation will fit into the current marketplace as the animation style is Rotoscoping so will be very detailed and busy. I have based it on multiple characters that I have combined which, should work well with the target audience as they are very popular right now. I also had the personality of Spongebob Squarepants included to the character as well as he is a very bubbly character who is always happy and cheerful, which I think 'Hemmings' will have towards the end when things start to look up for him. The main theme of this is music as the character has a passion for music that he never stops at and when he is at a low point in his life, turns to it and that is what starts off his career. My story is quite different to others as it follows a Teenager walking then we see what happened in his life to lead up to that particular day and what he had to do to get there, I haven't seen one like this before so I think it would attract a new audience.

The channel that I would like my product to be shown on would be on shows like E4 or 4music between the programmes being shown or even online as the target audience for my product is targeted towards the ages that would be most likely to watch the channel. As it is a short film, using it during advert breaks could also work as it won't be long enough for its own show as in at the cinema.

P2. Post on Scheduling

The Simpsons

Length: 22 minutes long

Animation Type: Cell animation (hand drawn)

Length of Production: 8-9 months

Adventure time

Length: 11 minutes long

Animation Type: Cell animation (hand drawn)

Length of Production: 8-9 months

South Park

Length: 22 minutes long

Animation Type: Cut out- Computer manipulated 

Length of Production: 6 days 

Peppa Pig

Length: 5 minutes long

Animation Type: 2D computer animation or Cell 2D

Length of Production: 3 months

Frozen

Length: 120 minutes

Animation Type: Computer Animation 3D

Length of Production: 2 years

http://www.getharvest.com/blog/2011/11/teams-at-work-creating-a-south-park-episode-in-6-days/

http://www.kidzcoolit.com/reviews/the-brains-behind-peppa-pig-phil-davis-neville-astley-and-mark-baker-answer-some-kidz-random-questions.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6260000/newsid_6262500/6262584.stm

P2. Target Audience

Name: Kate

Age: 18

Average Day: Kate is in college, she is in her final year at college and is working hard to make sure that she achieves the best grade possible. She is an Art student and takes Maths and English, Kate enjoys having breaks to spend time socialising with her friends and having a laugh. She has extra Maths tutor sessions at lunch to keep her grade up so when she gets time to herself she tries to relax. Her normal college day is 9:00-4:00 and gets the train to and from college on a daily basis. Once she is home, she does the same as all of her friends and chills out, she goes on twitter, Facebook, youtube etc. She likes to make sure that she spends time with her family and that she has also finished all her work so she isn't behind and heads to bed at just gone 10.

Hobbies and Interests: She enjoys hanging out with her friends on the weekends, in her spare time she likes to paint and go on her social media sites.

Spending power: She has just left a job where she got around £300 in total, apart from this she receives money from family on special occasions such as her birthday and christmas but is dependant upon her parents.

Typical Media Consumption: She spends up to 10 hours a day on either social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, vine, Youtube and is watching telly on shows such as E4, 4music, ITV etc. when she gets home or when she is at home on the weekend.

Why the Animation will appeal to them: This will appeal to her as it shows what happened in the characters life as they are at the same age she is now so will show reality of college life, it shows that hard work in the end pays off if you are passionate about something and it is also very arty and will flow together using scattered drawings to draw them in, being interested in arts this should appeal more but also by the age range and use of imagination.

P2. Budget And Schedule

P2. Legal And Ethical In Your Animation

P2. Representation And Ethics In Cartoons

The article believes that Rio 2 is problematic in terms of representations as to start with the lead characters are voiced by white Americans. Rio 2 uses non-white voice actors. The singing, dancing, comic-relief sidekicks are primarily voice by African-American actors.

PEPs are when racial stereotyping is used in animation. Problem contexts, Entertainment contexts and Performance contexts. Dr Charles Da Costa, who is a British lecturer, has written on racial stereotyping in animation says "Within PEPs, black people and other genotypes have to be associated with vexing circumstances," and  "Strive to pacify, make others happy and be exceptional or extraordinary – far from 'normal'. Villainy, exoticism, jocularity and athleticism are common indicators of this malaise. Images of ethnicity do not need to be conveyed within the narrow scope of PEPs."
He believes that the slow, expensive, labour-intensive process of producing could also be a factor as decisions on character and performance must be made very quickly in order for design and production processes to commence and advance. So with the representations of ethnicity and epidermal type, family animation often finds itself in a bind. It would consciously and subconsciously weighs financial against moral obligations, then unconsciously goes for the 'safe' representational defaults stereotypes.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/06/repressed-brits-evil-mexicans-arab-villains-hollywood-animated-movies-stereotypes

P2. Voice Talent

Hemmings

Shy at first then comes out of his shell, can be the life of the party when he is comfortable as in when he is around his friends, bubbly, insecure, loves music.

The type of vocal performance required is quite deep yet weary, so sounds quite nervous yet strong at the same time and also to have a bit of an accent.

If budget or availability was not a consideration then my dream choice would be Tom Hanks as he has the voice qualities that I am looking for, his voice is deep yet can be spoken so he is weary of certain situations, moreover he has an american accent but could probably put on an Australian to match the character, Hemmings.
Tom Hanks has been the voice for Woody from Toy Story so I know that he would be the perfect choice for the Hemmings.

For a cheaper alternative, I would choose Paul Winchell such as for his voice over work for Tigger in Winnie the Pooh, as his voice can be changed slightly to make it ideal for the character, he has done a lot of work so would be the better option as he has worked with voicing for many popular characters.

P2. Final Design and Character Profile

P2. Story and Storyboards

Short Film

It is about the Character Hemmings. It starts out with him walking down the streets then behind him is a wall and on that it shows his life, what he has been through, overcome, what he enjoys doing etc. It is going to be 2 minutes long so will flow through all the big life events such as starting school, finding out his passion for music, his friends, family, low points he has faced etc. You see him growing up throughout the years and see what he had to face.
I want it to be as creative as possible and to involve lots of colours to stand out, I want the designs to be rough yet detailed so it will be easy to create yet obvious so you can tell what is happening.

 

P2. Annotated Final Design

P2. Model sheet (movement)

Final Design

Hemmings

P2. Front, side, back and 3/4 turn

For this design of the front, back and side I didn't want the colour to be too accurate and neat so kept it fairly rough but not so that it looks scruffy. For the side view, I did the side view slightly different so that you can see the body fully but it is just on a tilt, I did this because my idea was to have the character walking across the screen with the main focus on the drawings behind them so wanted as side view where they are being shown also. 

P2. Character expression sheet

P2. Regulartory Bodies-BBFC

The BBFC or British Board of Film Classification, originally named British Board of Film Censors is a non-governmental organisation which are being funded by the film industry and who are responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the UK. It's requirements are to classify videos, DVD's, and some video games that are under the Video Recording Act 2010.
BBFC were confirmed in 1912 as British Board Of Film Censors by members of film industry as an independent body to bring some consistency to the classification of film nationality, the film remains with the local councils that could overrule the BBFC's decisions allowing the films they reject, not allowing those it passes, it began operating on 1st January 1913.
The legal basis was the Cinematograph Act 1909, this was so that cinemas had to have the right licences from local authorities. This was introduced for safety reason since a number of nirate film fires in unsuitable venues, later it said that the criteria for granting or declining a licence didn't need to be declined to health and safety. Providing that the law allowed councils to accept or deny licences to cinemas according to the content of the films they showed the 1909 Act to be enabled for the introduction of censorship.
Whilst the warners gangter films and other 1930's Hollywood films that were dealing with the crimes and the effects of the Great Depression were released in the United Kingdom highly uncut. These were strictly off-limits for British film-makers.
During WWII, the British Board of Film Classifications political censorship function was handed over to the Film Division of the Ministry of Information, the BBFC never got it back to the same level as before.
In 1984 they changed their name to "reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the Board's work than censorship". It was given responsibility for classifying videos by hire or buy to view as well as being shown in cinemas. Home video and the cinema versions of a film tend to receive the same certificate, a film may sometimes be given a more restrictive certificate for the home video market mostly due to the bonus features, as it is easier for children to watch a video at home than to go to the cinema.
In December 1986 the first computer game to be certified by the BBFC was an illustrated text adventure called 'Dracula' received an 15 certificate. The first computer game to get an 18 certificate was on the 11th January 1987 which was another illustrated text adventure 'Jack The Ripper'. If the game publishers reprinted the text in book form, it would not have needed a certificate as the BBFC don't have an overview to print media. Both have had several stickers all on the front to
make it clear they weren't for children as computer games with the BBFC certificates were unknown.
The first video game to be denied classification by the BBFC was Carmageddan (1997) a later version of the game was then given an 18 certificate.
The BBFC is a not for profit organisation, it's fees are set to only cover it's own costs. In order to maintain its independence, the BBFC don't take anything from the film industry or government. Their income are only from that which it charges for services, by working out the total running time of films/DVD's submitted for classification. The BBFC discuss the department of Culture, Media and Sport before making any charges to its fees.
In 1984 Parliament had passed Video Recordings Act. This was subject to certain exemptions, offered for sale or hire in the UK has to be classified by an authority made by the Secretary of State. President and VP of the BBFC were designated and charged with using the test of 'suitability for viewing in the home'. The title was to change to the British Board of Film Classification to show the fact that the classification does play a large part in the BBFC's work and its censorship.






U- suitable for all ages to watch (Universal). Only allow language such as 'damn' and 'hell', violence will be mild but can include small fights or where the characters are put into danger.




PG- Parental Guidance, it won't contain a theme which isn't suitable for a child, it works with challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism. There may be some bad language but its only when the context or delivery are important. Sex references are unlikely unless they are undetailed and aren't shown too much.




12-Video release suitable for those 12 years and over. It is the same as 12A but just depending on the language used and to what extent.




12A-Cinema release suitable for those 12 years and over. Strong language may be used but depending on the manner in which it is said, who is using the language and how much it is being said, sex may be briefly and be shown discreetly due to the 12 rating.




15- suitable only for 15 years and older. This may include: Strong violence, strong language, portrayals of sexual activity or references to, brief scenes of violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking.





18- suitable only for adults. This may contain very strong violence, strong language, violence strong horror, sexual activity and discriminatory language and behaviour.





R18- Adults works for licensed premises only. It is a special and legally-restricted classification only for explicit works.







The British Board of Film Censors was set up in 1912 by the film industry as an independent body to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film nationally. Statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, which may overrule any of the BBFC’s decisions, passing films we reject, banning films we have passed, and even waiving cuts, instituting new ones, or altering categories for films exhibited under their own licensing jurisdiction.

The animation film, Coraline has been given the rating PG as in the BBFC guidelines it says there might be some scary moments adding the element of horror only so that it meets the criteria provided, which is that the frightening sequences are not prolonged or too intense.